Biggest Winners and Losers in World Rugby for Weekend of April 15-17

New Zealand's highest powers continue to soar in Super Rugby this season as the Crusaders, Blues and 2015 finalists the Hurricanes each took one step closer to a post-season campaign in Round 8 of the 2016 season.

The Cheetahs flew a strong flag for South Africa, however, and bulldozed their way to a record-equalling 92-17 thrashing of the Sunwolves.

There was drama in Singapore, too, as Kenya clinched their first World Rugby Sevens Series victory by beating Fiji 30-7 in the final, triumphing in just their third appearance in a tournament decider.

We also have a roundup of the Premiership's headlines as London Irish look destined for relegation, and England coach Eddie Jones tells one of his tour hopefuls to clean up his act in this week's biggest winners and losers.

Winner: New Zealand's Superpowers

Both the Highlanders and the conference-leading Chiefs enjoyed a bye week in Round 8 of the Super Rugby campaign, but that didn't stop their New Zealand compatriots from tightening their grip on the southern hemisphere.

The Crusaders handed the Jaguares their sixth defeat of the season in Christchurch, the Blues edged the Sharks 23-18 in Auckland and the Hurricanes collected an impressive 38-13 victory away to the Rebels.

The gulf between New Zealand and Australia's teams in the Australasian conference this season has been well-chronicled, with the latter nation currently accounting for four of the bottom five teams in the order.

It's a trend that isn't likely to change anytime soon, however, with the second-placed Brumbies the only team breaking the trend—albeit on 21 points, just the fifth-highest tally in the conference.

Loser: London Irish

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A 13-6 defeat to Newcastle Falcons on Sunday left London Irish languishing at the base of the Aviva Premiership, seven points adrift of safety with just two games to salvage their top-flight status.

Marcus Watson rushed in the only try at Kingston Park as the Falcons distanced themselves from the drop debate, and Irish coach Tom Coventry informed BT Sport a lack of confidence was key.

The Exiles are staring at a future in the RFU Championship next season and have to win their last two games against Harlequins and Wasps if they're to have any chance of staying up.

That tall order seems only too unlikely for London Irish, however, whose win tally of just four this season shows why they sit adrift at the base.

Winner: Kenya Sevens

Kenya's sevens evolution took another monumental turn for the better this weekend after the African representatives won their first-ever World Series tournament leg with a convincing victory over Fiji.

Collins Injera notched a brace of tries before half-time to help Kenya assemble a 20-0 lead by the break, along with tries from Oscar Ayodia and Samuel Oliech, while Nelson Oyoo and Frank Wanyama went over after the interval.

Kenya remain seventh in the World Series standings and may not be challenging for the championship just yet, but their progress on the international stage was made clear with a maiden triumph in Singapore.

Loser: Chris Ashton

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England coach Jones made no bones about telling Saracens star Chris Ashton how he felt following the winger's involvement in the incident that saw Bath's Anthony Watson sent off in the two team's clash a fortnight ago.

Watson was shown a red card for taking out England team-mate Alex Goode in the air as Bath fell to Sarries 30-10, and Ashton made sure to give the culprit a piece of his mind in the aftermath.

It doesn't seem that was the reaction Jones was hoping for, however, and the England boss has told Ashton—fighting for a place in England's squad for the summer tour of Australia—to clean up his act, per Sam Peters of the Mail On Sunday:

"

Anthony Watson made a mistake, didn’t he? It was one of those difficult situation. Anthony is one of the most gifted players under the high ball, isn’t he? And even he makes a mistake. He got penalised, I don’t know what he said to the fourth official, but obviously Ashton didn’t help either. So he got angry, said something he shouldn’t have said to the fourth official and has been penalised.

I didn’t like what Ashton did. I thought it was unsportsmanlike and that is something he needs to get out of his game.

"

Ashton has become a contentious figure in the English rugby arena, if not for his at-times hit-and-miss form for the national team, then due to his exuberant try celebrations that some feel unnecessary.

KICCA's Ian Stafford has defended the speedster as an elite talent the Red Rose is fortunate to have, but early signs appear to suggest Jones may not be among his admirers.

Winner: Cheetahs

Sergeal Petersen and Paul Schoeman each soared over for a hat-trick apiece on Friday as the Cheetahs ran the Sunwolves out of Bloemfontein, South Africa, with their tails between their legs, thumping their guests 92-17 on home turf.

It was the most embarrassing result yet in the Japanese franchise's young history, and the South African hosts collected no fewer than 14 tries, an average of just under one score every five-and-a-half minutes.

That tally tied the record for tries scored in a single Super Rugby match, with the 2002 Crusaders the first team to record such a monstrous haul in the division.

It's bizarre a match total of 109 points scored wasn't enough to break any records, but the Cheetahs can be content with the display nonetheless, while the Sunwolves retreat to lick their wounds.